Providing food for a growing world population and relating better with consumers will be themes of the 24th annual Governor’s Ag Conference to be held this year February 15th and 16th in Kearney.

Gov. Dave Heineman announced the time of the conference and its speakers during a teleconference with reporters.

“Farmers and ranchers are feeling very optimistic out there. Particularly, if you look at the number of people that they’re going to have to feed in the future, probably on less land than ever before. I think agriculture looks very bright well into the future,” Heineman said. “It won’t be a straight line upward. There will be some ups and downs along the way, but our producers are more efficient, more productive and more effective than ever before.”

The theme of the conference this year will be, “Nebraska Agriculture: Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Opportunities.”

The conference begins at 3:30pm on the 15th at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, with experts discussing how best to connect consumers. The governor said the conference is being held earlier than normal in the hopes of attracting more attendance and to provide a better schedule for speakers.

University of Texas senior research fellow John Doggett delivers the keynote speech on the role Nebraska agriculture will have in the future global economy. Doggett is a senior lecturer of International Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainability at Texas.

Also speaking: Bruce Knight of Strategic Conservation Solutions on the federal Farm Bill,

Archie Clutter with the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska on how the university will help meet the growing demand for food, and Bill Holbrook from The ProExporter Network on the challenges farmers will face in feeding a growing world population.